Author Archive

A Halloween Cover Launch: The Rhesus Chart by Charles Stross

The Rhesus Chart: a Laundry Files novel by Charles Stross

LONDON CAN DRAIN THE LIFE OUT OF YOU . . .

Bob Howard is an intelligence agent working his way through the ranks of the top secret government agency known as ‘the Laundry’. When occult powers threaten the realm, they’ll be there to clean up the mess – and deal with the witnesses.

There’s one kind of threat that the Laundry has never come across in its many decades, and that’s vampires. Mention them to a seasoned agent and you’ll be laughed out of the room.

But when a small team of investment bankers at one of Canary Wharf’s most distinguished financial institutions discovers an arcane algorithm that leaves them fearing daylight and craving O positive, someone doesn’t want the Laundry to know. And Bob gets caught right in the middle.

The newest Laundry Files novel, and a jumping-on point for readers new to the series, THE RHESUS CHART will be released in hardback and digital July 2014. Cover design by Crush Creative.

The Laundry Files by Charles Stross

Don’t forget you can now buy all four of the previous Laundry Files novels in these gorgeous paperback editions.

There’s something happening on Twitter . . . it’s ANCILLARY JUSTICE!

Everyone’s talking about ANCILLARY JUSTICE, the brand new space opera from Ann Leckie.

We’ve collected some of the commentary for you here below!

Leckie’s fabulous debut is released 1st October, but the praise is already coming in.

You can preorder your copy today!

 

CHOSEN: Out Today From Benedict Jacka

Happy publication day to Benedict Jacka! The latest Alex Verus novel, CHOSEN (UK|ANZ), is released today, after much anticipation from the fans!

Alex Verus, the Camden-based mage who just can’t stay out of trouble despite his ability to see the future, returns in CHOSEN, when someone comes looking for revenge for deeds Alex commited in his past, as an apprentice to the Dark mage Richard Drakh . . .

See Benedict talk about CHOSEN’s moral abiguity here in John Scalzi’s The Big Idea: ‘In FATED, CURSED and TAKEN, Alex had gotten into quite a few fights, but not because he wanted to – it had usually been a case of self-defence. But what would he do if someone was coming after him for a justified reason? What if they wanted him dead for something that really was his fault?’

Alex Verus has a considerable number of readers rooting for him, including Harry Dresden author Jim Butcher and Laundry Files author Charles Stross, so let’s hope he survives the experience!

Harry Dresden would like Alex Verus tremendously – and be a little nervous around him. I just added Benedict Jacka to my must-read list.”

– Jim Butcher

Whoop-ass excitement from the new master of magical London”

– Charles Stross on CHOSEN

Banner shows the Alex Verus series: magical London urban fantasy by Benedict Jacka

Launching the cover: THE LASCAR’S DAGGER

Coming March 2014, from the author of the Stormlord trilogy . . .

cover for fantasy novel The Lascar's Dagger by Glenda Larke - shows hooded figure holding dagger

FAITH WILL NOT SAVE HIM.

Saker looks like a simple priest, but in truth he’s a spy for the head of his faith. It’s a dangerous job, and more lives than merely his own depend on his secrecy.

When Saker is wounded by a Lascar sailor’s blade, the weapon seems to follow him home. Unable to discard it, nor the sense of responsibility that comes with it, Saker can only follow its lead.

It will put him on a journey to strange shores, on a path that will reveal terrible secrets about the empire, about the people he serves, and likely lead to his own destruction. The Lascar’s dagger demands a price, and that price will be paid in blood. 

THE LASCAR’S DAGGER is the first book in The Forsaken Lands – a brand new epic fantasy trilogy from Glenda Larke, full of scheming, spying, action and adventure.

See what Glenda has to say about the inspiration behind this exciting new series here:

        “One of the wedding presents given to my husband and me was a hand-crafted Malay dagger, and it was on my wedding day that I was first told that a mystical spirit inhabits the blade of a kris

         I lived in Southeast Asia for thirty years, and during that time I stayed and worked in places as diverse as sprawling Asian cities, coral atolls, logging camps, mangroves, peat swamps and tropical forests. In the field, as part of my ornithological work, I saw the intricate dance and heard the glorious songs of some of the most beautiful birds on Earth. Meanwhile, in my mother-in-law’s kitchen, I learned about Asian spices.

         Perhaps it was inevitable, then, that I should one day turn to birds of paradise, and to the real magic of spices, and to the spirit of the Malay kris to inspire a book. Yet, always, there was also a reluctance to use material that was not mine by birth.

         In the end, I have woven the European origins of my family with the Indonesian origins of my husband’s ancestry to create a place of my imagination, a place evocative of the 18th century and the spice trade that led Europeans to Indonesia. Along the way, I have paid homage to another family connection of mine, the Master’s Mate who strode the decks of Captain Cook’s Endeavour when it sailed through the Indonesian archipelago in the 1770s.

         But that’s all background. THE LASCAR’S DAGGER is really a story of honour, love and courage; a tale about men and women who like power too much, and those who would challenge them. It’s about ordinary people struggling to make sense of the world when they are thrown out of their comfort zone. And in this world of theirs, when cultures clash, so does their magic!”

~ Glenda Larke

Cover Reveal: JUSTICE by Ian Irvine

We’re proud to reveal the cover to JUSTICE, the shattering final volume in Ian Irvine’s fantasy epic – the Tainted Realm trilogy.

justice_ian_irvine

THE FINAL BATTLE – THE ULTIMATE PRICE  

The once beautiful land of Hightspall is being carved up by warring armies led by figures from out of legend. One army is headed by the charismatic brute, Axil Grandys, and the other by Lyf, resurrected sorcerer-king and Axil’s ancient nemesis.  

Only the escaped slave Tali and her unreliable magic stand in their way – but Tali’s gift grows more painful every time she uses it. As the armies converge on the fateful peak of Touchstone, Tali and her ally Rix must find a way to overcome Lyf and prevent Axil from using the Three Spells that will destroy Hightspall forever. 

JUSTICE concludes the story which began in VENGEANCE (UK|US|ANZ) and REBELLION (UK|US|ANZ), that of Tali and Rix, and their quest to save their homeland from its dark history.

Cover design by Lauren Panepinto.

Listen to COLD DAYS by Jim Butcher

We’ve released the paperback and audio editions of Jim Butcher’s COLD DAYS (UK|ANZ) today, the latest novel in the Dresden Files. To celebrate the release, we thought we’d share an audio extract!

COLD DAYS is read on audiobook by James Marsters (known to some of us as ‘Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer’), who makes an absolutely excellent Harry Dresden. Listen to James do his stuff here:

The Laundry Files: Listen to the Audiobooks!

Fancy some spy-fi on your morning commute? The first two adventures in Charles Stross’s Locus Award-winning supernatural thriller series the Laundry Files came out today as audiobooks:  THE ATROCITY ARCHIVES (UK|ANZ) and THE JENNIFER MORGUE (UK|ANZ). You can click on the images below to sample the first chapters now!

 NEVER VOLUNTEER FOR ACTIVE DUTY . . .

Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob’s under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe – but then he went and got Noticed. Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, parallel universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than a full system reboot to sort this mess out . . . THE ATROCITY ARCHIVES is the first novel in the Laundry Files.

SOME AGENTS HAVE ALL THE FUN.  OTHERS SAVE THE WORLD.

Bob Howard is an IT expert and occasional field agent for the Laundry, the branch of Her Majesty’s Secret Service that deals with occult threats.  Dressed (grudgingly) in a tux and sent to the Caribbean, he must infiltrate a millionaire’s yacht in order to prevent him from violating a treaty that will bring down the wrath of an ancient underwater race upon humanity’s head. Partnered with a gorgeous American agent who’s actually a soul-sucking succubus from another dimension, Bob’s mission (should he choose to accept it) is to stop the bad guys, avoid getting the girl, and survive – shaken, perhaps, but not stirred. THE JENNIFER MORGUE is the second novel in the Laundry Files.

The four books so far in supernatural spy thriller series The Laundry Files

You can now buy the entire Laundry Files in the new paperback cover style (click on the image for the full size covers). THE RHESUS CHART, the fifth novel in the series, will be out July 2014.

NEPTUNE’S BROOD publishes today!

The cover of Neptune's Brood, a brand new space opera from science fiction legend Charles StrossOur brand new space opera from science fiction master Charles Stross comes out today! Buy NEPTUNE’S BROOD (UK|ANZ) as an ebook today or pick up one of these gorgeous hardback editions!

Alastair Reynolds, author of the Revelation Space series, had this to say:

NEPTUNE’S BROOD is fast-paced and imaginative, with fascinating ideas about an interstellar society constrained by real physics. Above all else though, it’s just terrific fun.”

In NEPTUNE’S BROOD Charlie writes about spacefaring cultures with no faster-than-light travel, which makes for an unusually scientifically accurate space opera. Our protagonist, Krina ( a metahuman in a universe where humans went extinct five thousand years ago), embarks on a daring voyage across the star systems to find her missing sister. See Charlie, Reynolds and other science fiction authors discussing the science in this io9 article: How to Write a Killer Space Adventure Without Breaking the Speed of Light.

Charlie will be appearing at Waterstones Princes Street in Edinburgh this Thursday to sign NEPTUNE’S BROOD (buy your tickets here) and signing in London next month as well as appearing at Nine Worlds from 9–11 August. You can read the first chapter of NEPTUNE’S BROOD here.

Charles Stross Wins A Locus!

The Apocalypse CodexWe’re absolutely delighted to announce that Charles Stross has won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, with his supernatural spy thriller THE APOCALYPSE CODEX (UK|ANZ).

The 2013 awards were announced at the annual Locus Awards Weekend in Seattle this Saturday. Our congratulations go to all the other winners, and you can see the full list at Locus Online.

The Laundry Files are the story of Bob Howard, an I.T. geek and reluctant secret agent working for the Laundry – the British government agency tasked with defending the realm from occult threats.

The Files begin with THE ATROCITY ARCHIVES (UK|ANZ) and continue with THE JENNIFER MORGUE (UK|ANZ), THE FULLER MEMORANDUM (UK|ANZ) and THE APOCALYPSE CODEX. Starting tomorrow, you can now buy the entire series in the new cover style shown below (click on the image for the full size covers).

The covers for supernatural spy series The Laundry Files by Charles Stross

The next instalment in the series, THE RHESUS CHART, will be published summer 2014.

Neptune’s Brood: First Chapter and Short Story

The cover of Neptune's Brood, a brand new space opera from science fiction legend Charles StrossOur brand new space opera from Charles Stross, NEPTUNE’S BROOD (UK|ANZ), will be released next week!

To help you occupy the time between now and the July 2nd release date, there’s not only a sample chapter up on the Orbit site, but Charlie has posted an entire short story set in the same universe, ‘Bit Rot’, at his blog!

“I can get you a cheaper ticket if you let me amputate your legs: I can even take your thighs as a deposit,” said the travel agent. He was clearly trying hard to be helpful: “It’s not as if you’ll need them where you’re going, is it?”

 “Is it possible to find a better price by booking me on a different routing?” I asked. “I’m very attached to my limbs.” (Quaint and old-fashioned, that’s me.) “Also,” I hedged, “I don’t have much fast money.”

 The agent sighed. His two eyes were beautiful: enormous violet photoreceptors that gleamed with a birefringent sheen. “Ms. Alizond. Krina. How can I put this? That could be a problem.” [READ THE REST OF THE SAMPLE CHAPTER HERE]